Al Jazeera to take legal action on Egypt signal jamming

Doha, September 5, 2013

Doha-based Al Jazeera Media Network said it will take legal action after finding out there was a deliberate effort to jam its satellite signal in Egypt.

The network received a technical report compiled by Integral Systems, a US-based global satellite company, revealing the source of the deliberate jamming that Al Jazeera was continuously subject to since July 7, said a statement.

The report showed that the interference came from three locations east of the Egyptian capital of Cairo, and that the fourth site is west of the capital. The report also confirmed that three of the four sites are in areas of military installations, it said.

The network condemned the jamming of its operations in the statement and stressed that any attempt to disturb the broadcast will not affect its quest to report facts and bring truth to viewers.

It added that the channel reports with the principles of media professionalism and objective journalism, and adheres to including all viewpoints without the exclusion of any party; to deprive the public of their right to knowledge is an inherent violation of their basic human rights.

The technical jamming of the channel added to the continuous harassment practiced by the Egyptian authorities and their media campaigns against Al Jazeera, said its statement.

Its harassment is suffered by the network as a whole and its crews working on the ground includes intimidation, threats, judicial action, offices raids and the imprisonment of some of staff without any charge, it said. - TradeArabia News Service